The first blast, followed by gunfire, occurred at a checkpoint close to Villa Somalia, the name for the seat of government, while a second followed soon after at a hotel.

"I can confirm an attack in the vicinity of the presidential palace," said police officer Ibrahim Mohammed.

"Another car loaded with explosives went off close to a recently opened hotel," Mohammed added.

The Shabaab Islamist murderous Moslem group claimed it was targeting the government and security services.

The blasts follow weeks of relative calm in Mogadishu.

According to officials, the main attack involved the use of a vehicle loaded with explosives attempting to breach a checkpoint leading to the presidential palace but security forces prevented the assault.

"The security forces foiled the intent of the terrorists. They were aiming for key targets but they could not even go closer, there were five of them killed by the security force," said Abdulahi Ahmed, a security officer.

[INDEPENDENT.CO.UK] A couple who planned an Isis-inspired terror attack in the UK after meeting on a dating website have been enjugged.You have the right to remain silent...Munir Mohammed was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years, while accomplice Rowaida El-Hassan was enjuggedYou have the right to remain silent... for 12 years and five more under licence conditions.

Security services feared Mohammed and pharmacist El-Hassan were ready to strike before they were detained.

Mohammed, a 37-year-old Sudanese refugee, had already amassed two out of three core components for triacetone triperoxide (TATP), the powerful explosive used in Isis attacks including Gay Paree and Brussels.

He had also downloaded a manual on how to make ricin, a deadly poison that can kill an adult victim with just a few grains.

Judge Michael Topolski QC told Mohammed: "You decided that yours would be a lone wolf attack. You decided the means of your attack would involve you making an IED.

"You had not decided whether that would be made with an ordinary bomb or whether you could do more damage and more terror by exploding a device containing ricin."

The judge told the Old Bailey that Mohammed deliberately drew El-Hassan in to the point where her commitment was "consistent and sustained".

[Ynet] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....'s official news agency says a court has ruled that three academics who signed a peace petition committed terror propaganda but deferred a final verdict for five years.

Anadolu news agency said the Istanbul court on Friday originally sentenced the three to 15-month prison terms but revised the sentences to five years of probation because of the defendants' good behavior and lack of prior records.

They are part of a group of 1,128 academics who signed a declaration in January 2016 denouncing security operations against Kurdish snuffies in southeastern Turkey. Many of the academics lost their jobs.

President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey... accused the signatories of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Trials of some 150 academics started in December, and the verdicts handed down Friday were the first.

[AnNahar] An Ankara court on Friday handed down multiple life sentences to the convicted mastermind of a 2013 attack in Turkey near the Syrian border which killed 53 people, state media reported.

Turkey blamed the twin car bombings on May 11, 2013, in the southern border town in Hatay province on pro-Damascus groups.

...that was this attack in the border town of Reyhanli, a very busy place for bad guys of various persuasions, including those on the Turkish government payroll...

The Ankara court convicted Nasir Eskiocak over planning and executing the attack, and gave him 53 aggravated life sentences, which carry harsher conditions and replaced the death penalty in Turkey, state news agency Anadolu reported.

Eskiocak was found guilty of killing 53 people including five children and "trying to destroy the country's unity and integrity," the agency added.

Ankara blamed the attack on "Acilciler" (meaning the Urgent Ones), an outlawed Marxist Turkish group linked to Syrian intelligence services. But the Syrian regime denied any involvement.

The group is a branch of a far-left underground movement founded in 1972, the Turkish People's Liberation Party/Front (THKP/C).

Following the clampdown after the 1980 military coup in Turkey, "Acilciler" went underground and its leader Mihrac Ural sought refuge in neighboring Syria.

The Turkish foreign ministry in late January sought explanations from Moscow over Ural's presence at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress hosted by Russia in the Black Sea resort of Sochi where representatives of Syrian civil society and politics met.

[DAWN] A man was killed and at least four others, including a young boy, were maimed as Indian troops continued ceasefire violations from across the line of control (LoC) on Friday, a local official said.

The casualties occurred in Nakyal sector of Kotli district, where shelling began at about 5:30pm, said Kotli Assistant Commissioner Waleed Anwar.

"They used mortar and airburst shells, in addition to small arms," he told Dawn.

The shelling stopped at about 9pm, but only after leaving Muhammad Farooq, 48, son of Ali Akbar, dead in Dharoti Narri village, he said.

In the same village, Zeeshan, 18, Mohammad Sabir, 60, and Mohammad Naseer, 48, were maimed, Anwar said, adding that a 12-years old boy Shams Aftab was injured in Datote village.

The bigwig said the injured persons had been shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Kotli.

[IsraelTimes] Army says 350 demonstrators take part in violent protests, plant flag along border amid heightened alert after last week's kaboom

A few hundred Paleostinians violently protested along the Gazoo border Friday amid a heightened alert by the Israeli military.

The IDF said some 350 demonstrators took part in the riots at five different locations along the border, burning tires and throwing rocks toward soldiers.

Two "inciters" were shot by soldiers for "posing a threat to IDF troops and the security fence," the army said. There were no reports of injured soldiers.

In one incident a Paleostinian flag was hung upon the border fence, according to Hadashot TV news. During rioting last week, bandidosturbans from the Popular Resistance Committees put a flag on the fence, under which they hid an improvised bomb.

The following day, when IDF troops from the Golani brigade and the combat engineering corps approached the fence to remove the flag, the bomb detonated, wounding four soldiers, two of them seriously.

The IDF has now eased the open-fire regulations in response to the heightened tensions, allowing soldiers to use lethal fire to prevent similar approaches to the border fence in future, Channel 10 reported on Friday. Snipers were stationed along the border for the purpose, along with other forces.

The move comes after Israeli officials warned that the IED attack crossed a red line, and "the gloves will be off" in the next encounter between rioters organized by Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", and IDF troops.

Separately Friday, the IDF said 950 Paleostinians held violent protests at 14 locations in the West Bank.

The protesters burned tires and threw rocks and molotov cocktails at IDF troops and border policeman, who responded with riot dispersal means, the army said.

The IDF said it was aware of one Paleostinian reported injured in the festivities.

1- Sharra: our forces destroyed a military vehicles for the Turkish invasion army during a specific military operation in Deir Sawan village.
Spontaneously, the Turkish jets bombed all of the villages in Sharra district.

Also in Deir Sawan village, our forces killed the terrorist Hassan Al-Ahmad, one of the leaders in Sultan Murad terrorist faction.

Last night, the Turkish warplanes bombed the populated areas in Maryamin village at 8 PM until 9 PM.

During yesterday’s evening hours, hour forces destroyed a military vehicle for the Turkish invasion army in Alaqina village.

2- Mabata: all of the villages in Mabata township have been exposed to a brutal and indiscriminate bombardment by the Turkish occupation army and its allied terrorist factions, coincided by fierce engagements in Sara and Shaytana villages.

3- Raju: our forces conducted a military operation against a Turkish military point, where our forces completely destroyed the point and killed many Turkish soldiers and terrorist elements. As our forces took over some weapons and ammunition.

In Mosaka village, fierce clashes broke out between our forces and the terrorist factions. The clashes started since the early hours of this morning until writing this report.

4- Sherawa: all of the villages in Sherawa axis were targeted of Turkish indiscriminate bombardment, where the Turkish invasion army and its terrorist factions have targeted peace convoy activists. Its is worth noting that several shells landed last night on the solidarity convoy which caused civilian martyrs and wounded.

In another documented scene which proves the Turkish brutality and its wanton of human values, the Turkish occupation army and the terrorist factions killed a farmer while he was asking to regain his stolen tractor from the terrorists.

5- Afrin/ citycenter: the Turkish army has been shelling Afrin city by heavy weapons in order to terrify the people and force them to displacement, where several shells landed on Afrin and its countryside yesterday.

6- Shiyah (Shaik Hadid): our forces carried out a military operation against a point for the Turkish invasion army and its terrorist allies in Hakiji village, as a result, the military point was destroyed and 8 terrorists were killed.

According to our sources, the preliminary death toll of the invaders was 32 terrorist and 4 Turkish soldiers in addition to 14 wounded.

SDF Media Center
23-Feb-2018

This is a video of YPG guerillas taking out a moving Turk military vehicle in a close quarters strike.

Another good news of todaybec there is 2 much bad news I look 4 good things todayYPG destroyed another vehicle from Turks or AQ invaders in Efrîn. Maybe a pantzer. Not sure pic.twitter.com/cWYgGln0qN

#1
Two YPJ/YPG taken prisoner three weeks ago after being wounded on the battlefield were located via intelligence efforts and a successful liberation operation of the two was carried out. These are their pictures after being liberated.

[ALMASDARNEWS] The Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels scored a small advance in the Afrin region of Aleppo on Friday after a fierce battle with the Kurdish-led YPG forces.

According to pro-opposition activists, the Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels captured the town of Muskan in the Rajou District, forcing the YPG to retreat further south towards the city of Afrin.

In addition to their advance at the Rajou District, the Ottoman Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) seized the town of Balfour near the imperative Jandaris axis in southern Afrin.

YPG activists claimed that at least ten FSA rebels were killed during their attack, while the overall corpse count for the Kurdish forces is unknown.

As a result of this advance, the Ottoman Turkish-backed forces now control over 415 square kilometers of territory inside the Afrin region of Aleppo.

[AlAhram] The Ottoman Turkish army struck a convoy entering Syria's Kurdish-held Afrin region, which Ankara said carried fighters and weapons but Kurdish forces said was made up of civilians entering with food and medicine.

In a statement on Friday, the Ottoman Turkish military said a fleet of some 30-40 vehicles of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia had approached the main town of the northwest Afrin region. It said artillery targeted the convoy "carrying terrorists, weapons and ammunition".

The YPG said the convoy, which arrived in Afrin late on Thursday, had transported civilians from the Jazeera region further east and other towns under the control of Kurdish forces.

Birusk Hasaka, the YPG front man in Afrin, said the convoy included hundreds of people. The shelling set some cars ablaze, wounding at least ten people and killing one passenger.

"The convoy was headed to stand in solidarity with the people of Afrin, carrying food aid and medical supplies," he told Rooters.

"As always all attention and sensitivity was shown so that civilians were not harmed," the Ottoman Turkish military said on Friday. It released aerial video footage showing a series of kabooms and smoke rising from a country road.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday the Ottoman Turkish army was making every effort to avoid harming any civilians, which was extending the duration of the operation. Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli has previously dismissed reports of harmed civilians as false.

Human Rights Watch said on Friday it had investigated three attacks in Afrin last month in which Ottoman Turkish troops failed to prevent civilian casualties. The air strikes and shelling, on a cluster of tents, a poultry farm, and a house, killed 26 civilians, including 17 children, it said.

"It appears that vulnerable civilians are facing displacement and death because of the way The Sick Man of Europe Turkey...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....'s latest offensive is being conducted," said Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at the U.S.-based group.

Since the onset of Syria's conflict in 2011, the YPG and its allies have carved out three autonomous cantons in the north. Their territory expanded as they defeated Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... with U.S. help, although Washington opposes their autonomy plans, as does the Syrian government.

This week, militias allied to Damascus deployed to Afrin to help fight the Ottoman Turkish assault. The Damascus government has also been allowing Kurdish fighters, civilians, and politicians to pass through its terrority to reach Afrin in recent weeks.

[DAWN] Fresh bombardment on Eastern Ghouta killed dozens Thursday, bringing the number of dead civilians in a five-day assault by the Syrian government to more than 400.

Mounting calls for a humanitarian truce in one of the bloodiest episodes of Syria's seven-year conflict failed to stop 46 more people being killed by air strikes and rocket fire.

Regime backer Russia said there was "no agreement" at the UN Security Council on a 30-day ceasefire for Syria and presented amendments to a draft resolution that would allow aid deliveries and the evacuation of civilians from besieged Eastern Ghouta.

As diplomats wrangled over a UN vote, which could take place on Friday, people huddled in basements while government forces pounded the enclave with rockets and bombs, turning towns into fields of ruins and even hitting hospitals.

Aid group Doctors Without Borders said 13 of the facilities it supports in Eastern Ghouta were damaged or destroyed in three days, leaving remaining staff with very little to save the hundreds of wounded brought to them every day.

The highly-destructive missile is most probably manufactured and fired into the capital by the Saudi-backed Jaish al-Islam...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful...A few days ago, a top commander from the terror group threatened ‐ via his Twitter account ‐ to escalate their attacks on Damascus in response to the ongoing military campaign launched by the Syrian Army against the rebel bastion of East Ghouta.

[ALMASDARNEWS] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the Jabhat al-Nusra...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Islamist faction the "main problem in Eastern Ghouta", during a joint press statement with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov in Moscow on Friday.

"We still don’t have evidence that the coalition led by the United States, is viewing Jabhat al-Nusra as a real target," the Russian Foreign Minister said.

He also went on to say that the Astana process for the Syrian peace settlement, initiated by Russia, Iran and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...., "prevents these [American] plans [of Syria’s partition]."

Lavrov added that this is part of the information war, noting that the Western colleagues "succeeded in giving vent to their emotions."

"And in practice these emotions have resulted in recent UN Security Council’s discussions attempting to adopt the resolution which declaratively announces an immediate humanitarian pause for at least 30 days," he said.

The top diplomat noted that no guarantees are given that the gangs will also respect this humanitarian pause.

The United Nations...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Security Council is set to vote on Friday, February 23, on a draft resolution proposing a 30-day cease-fire in Syria, intended to allow humanitarian aid to reach the region.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.